Transition: It’s the era of knowledge economy, says Mashood

Conference on Open Source Systems and Technologies starts at UET

LAHORE: Education Minister Rana Mashhood said on Friday it was high time for the commercialisation of technology.

“Universities cannot contribute to the national development without promoting a research culture,” the minister said at the IEEE 9th International Conference on Open Source Systems and Technologies (ICOSST-2015), organised at the University of Engineering and Technology.

The event was organised by the Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Sciences, UET, in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission and the National ICT R&D Fund Islamabad.

“We are proud of the UET and its students for their contribution to the country’s development,” Mashhood said. He said the era of traditional education was over. “The world is now heading towards a knowledge economy leaving the age of information technology behind,” he said.

The minister said the government had started projects like the Lahore Knowledge Park to promote education and research. He said the provincial government was helping universities promote a knowledge culture.

UET Vice Chancellor Fazal Ahmad Khalid praised the organisers for arranging a thought-provoking conference. He said 60 UET engineers had been involved for the construction a coal power plant in Sahiwal, a project of a Chinese company.

KICS Director Waqar Mahmood said the institute had made a significant contribution to research and development in the IT and telecom sectors. He said the three-day conference featured technical workshops series and a student competition.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2015.